Sous Vide Steak Recipe

Name: Sous Vide Steak Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 1.5 lbs steak (such as filet mignon, ribeye or NY Strip); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 1 tbsp fresh thyme (chopped); salt (to taste); black pepper (to taste)

5 from 2 votes

3 comments

May 24, 2022

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Here is an easy-to-follow guide on how to Sous Vide Steak! With this method you get perfectly cooked tender steak every time, with minimal effort! Enjoy a delicious steakhouse-quality steak, and serve with baked potatoes and a wedge salad. Perfect for a special dinner!

What is Sous Vide Steak?

Have you ever heard the term sous vide and not fully understood what the heck that meant? Sous Vide is a french term that means ‘under water’. So when I say we will cook this steak “sous vide” I mean, we will cook it in water using a sous vide machine which will hold the water at the same temperature for an extended period of time, cooking the steak your preferred temperature without overcooking. While I get that may seem gross or weird, I assure you it’s a fantastic way to get juicy, perfectly cooked steak every single time.

Did you know you can use this method with other meat like chicken or pork chops? Check out my Sous Vide Chicken Breast.

Using a Sous Vide Machine

I found my Sous Vide Machine off of Amazon for a reasonable price. I have the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Nano and it works extremely well. I also got some vacuum seal bags to use with my vacuum sealer for the steak. The vacuum sealer removes the air, preventing it from floating. You want the steak fully immersed in the sous vide bath water to have it cook evenly.

Pro Tip: Zip top bags with all the air removed manually also can work, as long as you have something heavy holding the steak down in the water.

Main Ingredients Needed

Just like you would cook fresh steaks on the grill with a lot of the same ingredients, this is very similar! I love flavoring my steak with garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. The slower cook time keeps the meat moist and ensures it won’t over cook, letting the flavorings work their way into the meat.

Steak (see notes below)
Salt + Pepper
Fresh Herbs (thyme and rosemary are always classic choices)
Garlic

Best Steak for Cooking Sous Vide

Depending on the occasion and price you are willing to spend, here are some great cuts of steak that will work beautifully in the sous vide machine. A good rule of thumb is if it’s good to grill, it would be great to cook using the sous vide method.

Filet Mignon – pricey but extremely tender
Ribeye Steaks– easy to find, great flavor
New York Strip – more affordable, middle of the road great steak
T-bone steaks – best of both worlds! Gives you Filet Mignon and NY Strip Steak
Sirloin steak – cheapest option on this list, also not as tender as the others listed

How to Sous Vide Steak

You know how when you cook something low and slow, it becomes more and more tender? That’s sort of the idea with this. If you keep it cooking steadily at a temperature that will get it to be medium rare, it will stay medium rare for hours. It’s a great make ahead option. Below is my step-by-step guide to using a sous vide machine and cooking the perfect steak.

Bring Water to Temperature using the Sous Vide Machine

Fill large container or pot with water. Add sous vide machine and set to desired cooking temperature. It will take some time for the water to come up to temperature, depending on how efficient your machine is and the starting temperature of your water.

Season Steak

Remove steak from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature for 30-45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then rub with fresh herbs and chopped garlic. Place meat into the vacuum bag and vacuum seal it. Alternately, place steak in gallon-size zip top bags or other sealable plastic bag, remove all the air and seal.

Cook Steak Sous Vide

Add bagged steak to the preheated water and cook according to the times and temperatures at which you’d like your steak to cook. Plan for at least an hour.

Sous Vide Steak Cooking Times and Temperatures

Rare: 120°F / 49°C to 128°F / 53°C Cook for a minimum of 1 hour; for a maximum of 2 hours 30 minutes
Medium-rare: 129°F / 54°C to 134°F / 57°C Cook for a minimum of 1 hour; for a maximum of 4 hours
Medium: 135°F / 57°C to 144°F / 62°C Cook for a minimum of 1 hour; for a maximum of 4 hours
Medium-well: 145°F / 63°C to 155°F / 68°C Cook for a minimum of 1 hour; for a maximum time of 3 hours 30 minutes
Well done: 156°F / 69°C and up Cook for a minimum of 1 hour; for a maximum of 3 hours

These cooking directions and the internal temperature range is based on a steak that is 1-1 1/2 inches thick. If the thickness of the steak is less than 1 inch thick, you can shorten the initial cooking times to 40 minutes to start. Also, please keep in mind that steaks cooked in water below 130° F should not be cooked longer than 2 1/2 hours for food safety reasons.

Sear Cooked Steak

Once your steak has cooked as long as you’d like, remove it from the water and open the bag. It will look brown, questionable and be very juicy. Dab the extra juices off the steak with paper towels and set aside. While you can totally eat the steak as is right now, we want it to look like a steak and also get some good char on it for flavor, so we will give it a quick sear in a hot pan.

Place a cast iron pan over medium-high heat until it’s very hot. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil or butter and sear the steaks until browned on both sides. You’re only searing the meat to get color and flavor, not cook it more. It‘s already cooked through perfectly to temperature.

Remove from pan, rest 10 minutes, then slice and enjoy!

What to Serve with Sous Vide Steak

I have tons of side dishes that you could look through but here are just a couple that go well with Sous Vide Steak:

Storage Directions

If you have leftover steak, allow it to cool to room temperature. Place steak in an airtight container or zip top bag and into the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Sous Vide Steak FAQ

Can you sous vide frozen steak?

Yes, you can absolutely cook steak sous vide from frozen. Pull it from the freezer and add it directly to the hot water. Because it’s frozen meat, add an extra 60 minutes of cook time. Before searing, you may want to add some seasonings for flavoring, but beyond that, the directions stay exactly the same.

Can I freeze cooked steak?

Yes, place cooked steak in a freezer bag, seal it, and into the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to use, let it thaw in the fridge for 24 hours before reheating.

More Meaty Main Dishes to Try

I hope you come to love this recipe and realize that the Sous Vide cooking method is precision cooking at its finest, especially when it comes to steak! Have a great day, friends!

If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.

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5 from 2 votes